Department of the Interior November 2, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Notice is hereby given that certain lands located in northwestern Nevada are temporarily closed or restricted and certain activities are temporarily prohibited in and around an area near the city of Winnemucca known as Water Canyon and administered by the BLM Winnemucca Field Office in Humboldt County, Nevada.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce our decision and the availability of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) for Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge in accordance with National Environmental Policy Act requirements (NEPA).

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.), the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) as the lead agency, advises the public that we intend to gather information necessary to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) regarding the proposed Coyote Springs Investment LLC (Applicant) Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP) and issuance of an incidental take permit (Permit) for endangered and threatened species in accordance with section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The Applicant proposes to develop a planned community in southern Lincoln County and implement conservation features (Project). The Applicant intends to request a Permit for incidental take of federally-listed threatened or endangered species, including desert tortoise (gopherus agassizii) as well as Evaluation List species. Evaluation List species include species that have been petitioned for listing; State-listed species; species that have been nominated for inclusion by technical specialists; and other species of concern that co-occur with federally listed species. The Service plans to refine the species list as a part of the scoping process. In accordance with the Act, the Applicant will prepare a MSHCP containing proposed measures to minimize and mitigate incidental take that could result from the Project. The Service provides this notice to: (1) Announce the opening of an additional 30-day public scoping period; (2) correct inaccurate contact information provided in the previous notice (71 FR 530704, September 12, 2006); (3) describe the proposed action and possible alternatives; (4) advise other Federal and State agencies, affected tribes, and the public of our intent to prepare an EIS; (5) obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues to be included in the EIS. The proposed action is approval of the MSHCP and issuance of the Permit.

This notice announces an upcoming meeting of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor Commission. Notice of this meeting is required under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463).